The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-12-31
MAIL ROUTE ESTABLISHED.
Postmaster General Orders Nail Service
Between Ketchum and Smoky.

uehce between sydney Il. Wright
President of the Philadelphia ant
Idaho Company and Hon. Fred I
Dubois it will be observed that
tri-weekly mail route has been es
tablished between Ketchum ano
Smoky, which Will be included il
the next advertisement of the De
partment for service from July l
1888. Much credit is due Mr.
Wright and Delegate Dubois from
the citizens of Ketchum and Smok,
for the interest they have mani
tested In securing the establishment
of this much needed mail service
The correspondence between the
parties was received by County
Commissioner Gillette and to him
the KEYSTONE is under obligations
for the privilege of publishing the
same:
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. Z, 1887.
Hon. +. 7. Dubois. " O., House of Rep
resentatices, Washington, d. @.
My DEAR SIR: l duly received
your letter of August 9th last and
was very much in hopes of seeing
you on my recent tri p to Idaho, but
learned that you were in the north
ern part of the territory.
| spent about four weeks at our
works, and during my stay had a
very pleasant chat with Gov. Steven
son, who was visiting Ketchum.
You are doubtless aware that the
present mail route to Smoky goes
from HALEY once a week. | had
the pleasure of meeting at our Sill
yer mine, in Smoky, on his visit
there, Mr.. Branch, the Special
Agent of the Postoifice Department,
from Denver He went to Smoky
via ketchum and left over the road
via HALEY. He informed me that
he should make report to the
Postoilice Department recommend
ing that the route be changed to
90 via Ketchum, instead of via
HALEY as at present, and | should
like to supplement his report and
recommendation with the following
facts, which are very well known
to you. and which | think should
have great weight with the Depart
ment.
The town of HALEY is connected
with Smoky by wagon road, the
distance being As miles by the
shortest route and 90 miles by the
longer route. 1t is the longer route
that is most generally used by the
stage carrying the mail, owing to
the heavy grades and bad condi-
ton of the shorter route.
The town Of Ketchum is the rail-
road terminus of the Wood River
Branch of the Oregon Short Line
railway. 1t is connected with
Smoky by good wagon road, the
distance being % miles. actual
measurement. The condition of
this road can be better understood
when | tell you that we have trans
ported during the past summer and
fall more than 200 tons of machin-
cry from Ketchum to Smoky, and
| personally made eight trips over
the road during the last month and
know of my own knowledge of its
good condition.
This road is the natural one for
the mail to go over, and in support
of this assertion | informed Mr.
Branch Of the following facts, and
he ascertained the correctness of
my statements for himself:
The stage earring the. mail and
running between HALEY and Smoky
takes two days to make the trip,
there is no travel by
that route. Parties living in Hal
ley and owning mines in Smoky,
or having business taking them to
that point, almost without an ex-
ception take the train at HALEY
and come to Ketchum, and from
Ketchum 60 to Smoky by the reg
ular stage that has been doing a
very profitable business all sum
mer, the time of the trip being
between six and seven hours.
Or if parties from HALEY drive in
their own conveyance to Smoky
they go via Ketchum, the distance
from HALEY to Ketchum being II
miles. Ketchun to Smoky % miles.
making the total distance 40 miles,
which is eight miles shorter than
the shortest route from Haley, be-
sides the advantage of very good
road over a very bad one.
The principal mine in Smoky be-
sides our own, is the Carrie Leon
ard mine, which is owned and con-
trolled by parties living in HALEY,
and whose natural interest would
lie in using the wagon road from
Smoky to Haley but as a matter
Of fact all the supplies for their
mine are purchased in HALEY,
transported by railroad to Ketch-
um, ana from Ketchum taken into
Smoky by wagon. All the ore pro
duced at their mine is in similar
manner transported to Kefchum.
and from Ketchum shipped to Hal
lev to be marketed In fact almost
the entire TRANSPORTATION into and